The popular media articles about BTC exceeding gold in value made me wonder how stupid must an average reader be if such news sell. On the other hand, if that's the case, it explains why cryptocurrency prices completely ignore fundamentals. I've tried to predict markets based on fundamentals, but would have constantly done better by following the crowds. On the other hand, in cryptoworld, hype seems to be a fundamental...

I've always wondered how a cryptocurrency backed by physical gold differs from paper gold. They both rely on the holder trusting that the issuer actually holds the gold. How is this verified? How then does it differ from paper gold - other than it is on a blockchain?